Organizations back up data in case of data loss or corruption. For example, client data may be under many different threats, including environmental threats, security threats, accidents and/or failures. Environmental dangers include storms or other natural disasters that can disrupt or damage client systems. Security threats include hackers that may maliciously enter a production system and corrupt or destroy data and/or software. Accident threats include such problems as software bugs that corrupt or make inconsistent data. Failure threats include the failure of hardware systems, such as the correlated failure of multiple storage devices that contain critical data. If a backup is present, then at least the data and/or software may be reset back to a known, good point in time.
One method of backing up data is through a tape backup system. A tape backup system uses tape cartridges to store data. In some companies, a tape backup system may be partially or fully automated such that tapes may be moved by robotic arm from a storage location to a tape drive and then back to a storage location. For example, a client archive system sends commands to the robotic system to move tapes from one location to another and tracks the movement of the tapes. The client archive system may also track the information written to the tapes, in order to recall files or other information if needed for a restore operation. These robotic systems may need large rooms and maintenance of the mechanical systems to operate efficiently.